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Lyra seemed to vanish into thin air while her wolves slunk into the darkness with her.

When Aidon was finally able to clear the air, she and her beasts were nowhere to be seen.

All that was left was the stench of her corrupted magic and the corpses of the wolves we'd managed to kill.

The vial of hydra venom had vanished with her.

Another weapon in her arsenal for next time.

I rushed to the window. Or tried to. I didn’t get very far when I doubled over with another contraction.

This one felt like being torn apart from the inside, and I couldn't hold back a scream.

The triplets' power surged wildly, responding to my pain and fear.

Sweat soaked through my shirt as Clio rushed to stabilize me.

"I can tell she just played you three like a fiddle," Clio said, as her healing energy started seeping into me.

"But before you go charging off on a revenge quest, we need to stop these contractions.

These babies are not ready to be born." She pinned Aidon and his parents with a glare before scanning my ruined living room.

"We need to get her comfortable first. Persephone? "

The goddess nodded, waving her hand at my blood-stained couch. Divine power shimmered, restoring it to its pristine state. "Let's get her settled," she said as Aidon helped ease me onto the cushions.

"Mythia!" Clio called once I was situated.

The back door burst open as Mythia hurried in, blood-spattered and disheveled from the fight outside.

Behind her, Tseki and Murtagh directed the shifters in securing the perimeter while pixies darted overhead, their glow illuminating broken furniture and scattered wolf corpses. “What do you need?” the pixie asked.

"I need your stabilizing herbs. The blue jar. And bring that tea you made for Nina when her power was fluctuating," Clio told her.

"On it," Mythia said. She fluttered back to the kitchen and began pulling jars and pouches from the cabinets.

Her hands moved with practiced efficiency despite Jean-Marc's worried pacing a few feet away. I wanted to reassure my son, but I couldn’t.

I was terrified myself and knew enough from my time as a nurse to know anything could happen.

As if he wasn’t bad enough, Nina hovered at my feet.

Her face was pale with concern, while Nana's usual sass was replaced with grim focus as she watched Clio work from her position near my head.

I decided to focus on Clio's healing magic.

It pulsed through me as she knelt beside the couch.

The hope I had that she would be able to stop this died as another contraction built.

"It's not enough," she muttered. "Aidon, Hades—I need your power. Help me stabilize the magical pathways."

They moved to flank her, and added their energy to hers. The combined power eased the pain slightly, but I could still feel the band tightening around my uterus. "Mollie!" Clio called. "We need one of your potions to counteract magical manipulation."

“What? Why?” I asked as I tried to breathe through the agony.

Mom appeared with her kit and was pulling out specific vials. "Try these," she said, selecting three that glowed with different intensities. She perched on the edge of the couch by my legs. "The blue one first. It's designed to break foreign magical influences."

Accepting the bottle from Clio, I drank the tonic. It as fruity, yet tart. Mythia brought a pot of brewing tea as I was trying to scrape the film the potion left on my tongue. The aroma of magical herbs filled the air, and cut through the lingering smell of battle.

"Here," she pressed a steaming cup into my hands as I lay propped against the armrest. "This will help with the aftertaste. These will as well." She offered her familiar pickle cookies. "They’ll also satisfy your cravings."

My hands shook as I tried to eat and drink while they worked around me. Clio channeled healing energy while Aidon and Hades supported her power from either side of the couch. Mom administered potions when Clio directed her to. Each contraction still hit hard, but they began to space further apart.

"More power," Clio ordered. Sweat was beading on her forehead as she leaned over me. "Hades, focus on the temporal aspects. Aidon, help me isolate the corrupted pathways. Mollie, we need another silver potion. It worked best."

Nina clutched Jean-Marc's hand as they watched from the fireplace. Both looked sick with worry. Tarja and Binx rejoined us and paused next to my children. “They will fix this, Phoebe. You need to get rid of all that worry. It’s making Clio’s job harder and feeding the babies chaos. ” Tarja said into my mind.

I nodded as tears pricked my eyes. I couldn’t respond mentally or verbally. I thought I was going to start bawling when Nana moved closer. She smoothed my hair back from my forehead like she had when I was sick as a kid. "Come on, little ones," she whispered. "Stay put for Nana."

Nana’s words or presence was the turning point. The combined assault of divine power, healing magic, and ancient potions began to take effect. The contractions eased from sharp, tearing pains to dull aches. The triplets' magic, which had been surging like a storm, settled into more natural rhythms.

"It's working," Clio said. The relief was evident in her voice. "But we'll need to maintain the treatment. These babies aren't ready to come yet, and we need to keep them safe from whatever Lyra's got planned."

“I will do whatever it takes,” I vowed as I sank deeper into the restored couch cushions, surrounded by my worried family and the aftermath of battle.

One hand rested on my belly where our children's power pulsed more calmly now. Aidon’s hand landed on top of mine, and he leaned over and pressed his lips to mine.

"That’s good because you," Clio said as she fixed me with her healer's stare that brooked no argument, "are on strict bed rest. No work, no training, no leaving this house.

Not until we figure out exactly what's causing these contractions.

I don't care if the apocalypse itself comes knocking. Someone else can handle it."